Daily Yellowstone journal., 1887-05-12
LANTERNS AND LAMPS.
From the Anricnts' Torches to the Burn
crs uf Modern Days,

Lanterns are an ancient institution.
You remember that Dlogenes used in
his eccentric efforts 10 discover something
heidi moi believe in. The lanterns Of the
Greeks ana l,omans contained an oil lamp.
Its sides were made of thin layers of horn,
waXcd rarrhment, linen or bladder. Glass
lanterns were used in England rs early NJ
70j. They were expensive. however, and
1000 wears later the tin lantern was
chiefly in use among the poor people.
The Chinese excel in the manufacture OF
lanterns. They have used them for ages.
Some Of their mandarins have them built
ut a cost of thousands Of dollars each.
The word built is not ont of place here,
for these lanterns are twenty TO thirty
feet high and contain hundreds OF
candles. Their sides are often Of rich
cOlorri silk. On Jan. Il Of each year
they celebrate the feast of the lu,lterns.
Why? Oh, it's a way they llave-tliey
are heatLens. you know.
No: candles are not the most primitive
form nrlight. In IIomer's time torches
were used. even in the palaces of the
wealthy. Rush lights, early in use, Were
rushes DIPPED in grease, pitch or n
Lamp comes from a Greek word-lam-
pas. The candles of Scripture are sup
posed to have been lamps in which olive
oil was burned. The earliest lamps were
shallow vessels of terra Gotta, either
round or oblong in shape. There was a
small opening in the top in which the oil
was poured; at the side was a handle.
and opposite, a nozzle through which the
wick p%rotruded. This form of lamp is
often represented in pictures. Many OF
them We're ornamented with representa-.
tons of war scenes and chariot races.
Bronze lamps and golden lamps have
been discovered of such beauty as TO en-
title them 10 rank among the choicest
specimens If ancient arts. In the acrop-
oils at Athens, according to a historian.
was a golden lamp. large enough so thai
when filled it would burn night and day
for a year. Above it was a bronze palm
tree to carry off its fumes and act as a
reflector. That was the kind Of a lamp
to have.
Speaking Of primitive lamps. some are
still TO he found in the country districts.
"Whilc in West Niryinia recently, sail q
travelling man, II saw one that was
primitive enough. A saucer was filled
with grease, and over the edge Of it
hung a lighted wick. II spluttered some.
but made enough light to render the
darkness visible. and its heat was sufii.
Gent to light the pipes of the family.
1t was more used for that purpose than
any other. il appeared to me. though il
was the only light in the house. There
are many people in the mountain regions
whose only lights are tallow dips.
A form Of the ancient Greek lamp i
still in Use among the Canadian French.
In the remote districts of the land the
cruise, a similar lamp, is sometime:
found. Olive oil. ground nut oil. poppy
oil or other vegetable oils are used il
various districts of the world. In tn,
tropical regions cocOanut oil is used in
lamps. The trade of candle making, usu,
ally combined with that of soap boiling,
wa once an important one. Franklin
worked at it until he ran away. The
chandler made wicks. nodded and dipped
his candles until driven out of business
by the general adoption Of whale oil as
an illuminant early in the present cen,
tury.
Improved lamps were introduced about
a century ago. A Frenchman named
Argand, in 1884, invented a burner with
two c%oncentric tubes. the inner one open
for a current to pass through and the
outer n containing the wick. He had
a metal chimney 10 make ii draw and
carry off the smoke. Somebody soOr
found out that a glass chimney war bet,
ter for that purpose. Argand's lamp
variOusly modified and improved. is thu
parent Of all the best modern lamps.
Various substitutes for whale oil wer,
tried during the present clntury. but
none came into general Use until coal oi
was introduced. II was first made frCn
camel coal, and that is the way it got il.
name. The general development of thu
petroleum region in Pennsylvania. which
began in lsjy-CO, soon destroyed the
manufacture of coal oil, just as il wa,
getting to he a profitable industry. Many
Improvements in lamps followed this dis
covery. But petroleum is not a new
thing-neither is natural gas. Oil wa,
found in a spring on Zacyuthus ~ Zant
one of the Ionian islands. 1000 YEAR
ago, and was burned in lamps in Sicily a
an early age. 1t was known TO the In
dians and to the western pioneers o.
America, hut somebody had to discover
how to get it in quantities and use it he
fore the knowledge became Of value {,
the world. -Pittsburg Dispatch.